MELBOURNE ¨C The first collective gasp of this year¡¯s Australian Open came Thursday afternoon, four days before the tournament officially begins.
The hubbub came at the start of the men¡¯s singles draw when Jack Draper¡¯s name appeared in the second slot in the 128-man field. That meant Draper¡¯s first-round opponent was guaranteed to be Rafael Nadal, the reigning Australian Open champion and the No. 1 seed in the absence of injured Carlos Alcaraz.
The buzz in the room was a sign of the left-handed Draper¡¯s gathering strength - a 21-year-old Briton, he is in form and up to No. 40 in the world - but also a reflection of Nadal¡¯s disarray.
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